


Holy Boy

by CiaranthePage



Series: The Disease [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, I just want him to have a friend, Set ????
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-10-29 01:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10843947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CiaranthePage/pseuds/CiaranthePage
Summary: Angus McDonald's planetside shopping trip with the Reclaimers goes about as well as expected: they all ended up disappearing halfway through, and Angus has to wait. But apparently, he isn't the only adventuring preteen left behind by their adult companions in Neverwinter that day. They strike up a conversation about their missions to save other people.(aka Angus makes a friend)





	Holy Boy

**Author's Note:**

> This is. Purely for fun lol. I'm only on ep 55 at the time of writing this so if anyfin doesn't match up just assume that's why! It's also a lil universe bendy so I can make my novel match up with taz  
> All non-TAZ characters are my own DnD novel ones  
> Please save these boys

Angus had been only a little surprised when they brought him planetside for a shopping trip. It wasn't something that  _never_ happened; Bureau members went to Neverwinter to buy and sell things all the time and Angus had gone with a multitude of them and even by himself. Granted, it _was_ true that he almost never went with the Reclaimers. That was for everyone's safety.

 

But this time Magnus had personally invited him to come, and Taako mentioned letting him learn how to choose components, and Merle hadn't said much of anything (which was practically a yes). So, of course, Angus was going to come along, surprise or not. The Director had even smiled, just a little, when he asked if it was truly alright if he went. They had gone in the early, early morning, wanting to make the most of the late autumn day. Angus had gotten bundled up in the floral sweater they'd collectively gifted him as a "pre-Candlenights" present for the trip, making sure it covered his bracer.

 

Once planetside, the trip went quite well for a good few hours. Taako only mildly complained  _and_ made good on his promise to show Angus some basic component shopping and where to get them cheapest. Magnus treated him to food when they stopped at an inn to rest for a while, and they only teased him a little bit. It was almost 100% the friendly teasing, where he could tell within ten seconds that they were joking instead of ten minutes.  _A new record_! he'd jokingly thought to himself. Those few hours were apparently their time limit for peace, though, as a series of events left Angus suddenly alone in front of a large, multi-deity temple and only slightly panicking about his companions' locations. He sat on the stairs with a book in his hands, pretending to read as he contemplated the events and tried to piece together what was wrong.

 

Taako had seen someone in the crowd Angus had not and immediately bolted. Took off and ran faster than Angus had ever seen him go. He hadn't even called back to tell Angus to follow, or really acknowledge him at all. It seemed Taako had wanted to get lost in the crowd and used magical means to do so, as even Angus couldn't find him. Who had it been, he wondered? Someone from The Incident Taako refused to talk to him about? An old enemy? An old friend turned sour? He doubted he would get his answer from Taako, since it had made him panic so bad, but perhaps Magnus would know.

 

Someone had come up to Magnus with a sad, knowing look and mumbled something Angus was too distracted to hear. Magnus had put his hand on Angus's head in the way he did when they went on a mission, promising he'd come look for him later and that he was " _really, super sorry, Ango_." And then he was gone. Angus knew more about this one -- he'd heard them talking about an old rebellion, something that a lot of people didn't remember anymore because its location had been trashed. Magnus was involved in that rebellion, Taako had mentioned offhandedly; was the mystery person a survivor of Magnus's old comrades?

 

Merle had excused himself as they passed a peculiar looking clay building, heading inside without another word and clutching his Extreme Teen Bible to his chest. No one had questioned it, and Angus was still wondering now if that was just a normal thing or if Merle had said something to the other reclaimers before they left. That one... he almost didn't want to think about it. The symbols on the building matched up with the ones on the inside of Merle's bibles pages, so it was probably (hopefully) a temple of Pan. Sometimes temples didn't let in those who were not a part of or looking into the faith, and  _some_ just didn't allow children. It could be a number of things.

 

After reaching his frustratingly vague conclusions, he was left with one fact: he was alone with just his book and personal possessions, and waiting anxiously for sundown or for one of them to come get him. ...sundown was only a few more hours away. Angus felt his shoulders slump as he tried to reread the same sentence for the sixth or seventh time, giving up and sliding the book back into his bag. He leaned on his hands, putting his legs up so he could set his arms there. He let his eyes lazily drift over the crowd, still trying to figure out where the Reclaimers had gone. He hoped Taako would come get him first because he was the most worried about him. He wasn't against Magnus coming, either -- Magnus was the most consistently and directly nice to him, which Angus could appreciate, and despite his mature demeanor Angus did genuinely like it when Magnus scooped him up onto his shoulders and ran them both around. Merle sometimes only seemed to tolerate Angus, but Angus still liked him, and he would be a familiar face in the crowd of people.

 

Angus started to doze on the steps, but voices interrupted his brief nap. Naturally curious as he was, he slid to hide a little closer to the wall running up the stairs and pretended to be reading so they would keep speaking. One voice was much older, almost sounded like the Director in its largely deadpan tone, but less stressed and more smooth. "You will need to wait out here," the voice explained. "I will be back soon."

 

The voice's owner strolled up the steps just in front of Angus, nearly hitting him in the face with their long, reddish brown tail. They were a tiefling, bound up in traditional monk wear for the Temple of Helm, with their shoulders square and face devoid of most emotions. From where they had come from, another, much younger and more nervous voice said, "Poetry, Poetry wait, no!"

 

A human boy probably a year or so older than Angus jogged up the steps to keep up with the tiefling (Poetry, Angus assumed). He took their hand, making them look back. "Why can I not come in?" he asked.

 

"The gods have decreed it so, Helm. Wait."

 

The boy -- Helm -- watched as Poetry continued up the stairs without him. Angus's eyes flickered between them, wondering why Helm didn't want them to go. He wore a similar outfit, though more like a traditional traveling clergy member than a full monk, and a small hammer was wrapped in a loop on his belt. Helm sat down on the stairs with a sigh, staring down at the marble and tracing some of the symbols with his fingers. He muttered things under his breath, something like a healing chant, that Angus didn't recognize. Angus slowly put his book away and took a deep breath. "Hello, sir!" Angus greeted.

 

Helm looked up from his chant, the words dying on his lips. He stared at Angus, dumbstruck that someone cared enough to speak to him. "Hello, good sir," he said. "Am I intruding on your business? I can move away, I am simply waiting for my companion --"

 

"No, it's okay," Angus assured him. "I'm waiting for my friends too. What's your name?"

 

"H-helm. Like the god, yes."

 

Oh, he hadn't even made that connection! Angus tucked the information away for future use. "I'm Angus McDonald! What brings you to Neverwinter?"

 

Helm moved to sit closer to Angus and out of the way of a half-elf dashing up the stairs. His expression was tense, and he gripped an amulet that hung from his neck in shaky hands. "Business. Medical business," he explained. "What brings you here, Angus McDonald?"

 

"You can just call me Angus. I'm here shopping with some friends of mine! What sorts of medical business does the Temple of Helm do? I thought you were primarily a protective faith." Angus was getting excited; he was slightly rocking on the stairs and couldn't stop the flood of words from his mouth. It had simply been  _ages_ since he'd had someone his own age to talk to.

 

"Not the Temple, just my companions and me," Helm sighed. "Have you heard of The Disease and the many, many lives it has taken, Angus?"

 

Angus's eyes went wide. He  _had_ heard of it -- the Bureau's Seekers had looked into it ages ago, when it had just begun, but after figuring out it wasn't connected to a relic, they had closed the investigation. The way Helm spoke of it, this disease had spread beyond what they had guessed it would, and... was it really so fatal as to earn such a sad look? "Yes, I have," Angus said. "I didn't think it was... a problem, though. Not enough to get clergy involved."

 

Helm's grip on the amulet grew tighter. "It was not my choice to become involved," he explained. "A dear friend was infected with it and I was sent away from the temple to find its cure and escape its grasp."

 

Silence settled over the two boys for a few moments; Angus chewed a bit on his pinky nail before getting the bitter taste of the orange fantasy nail polish on it and stopping. Helm looked over at Angus, seemingly sizing him up, and asked carefully, "What do you do, Angus? You do not seem like one without a job. Why are you in Neverwinter?"

 

It was Angus's turn to grip onto his possessions tightly. His fingers closed around his bag's strap, twisting it in his hands. He didn't want to  _lie_ when he had no reason, but he wasn't as used to covering up his Bureau work as the Reclaimers were, so the wrong thing could get him in a  _lot_ of trouble. He had to take a few moments to put together words that weren't lies, but that wouldn't become static for Helm. Helm seemed to understand, waiting patiently for Angus to speak.

 

"I... investigate things. For a very powerful group. And we try to help people using our information so that no more people get hurt by what we look for," Angus tried, watching Helm's face for signs of confusion. "It's a very important job."

 

The other simply hummed, releasing his grip on the amulet. Angus took a peek at it, trying to guess what it was. There were actually _two_ charms on the chain: one of the Gauntlet of Helm and another, more peculiar one. The second charm looked like a slim, ivory arm the length of the first two knuckles on his pinky grasping a decently sized ruby heart on a golden loop, with a face carved into either side of the heart. He knew the heart must be magical, as he had a sense for magic items now that his magic ability was starting to grow stronger, but he didn't know what sort of enchantment lived inside of it. Helm didn't seem to notice him staring, too busy tracing the symbols on the stairs. "I must ask, Angus, what sorts of people do you travel with? Your companions must be interesting people to be involved with an organization like the one you are describing."

 

"Oh, uh, well I have lots of coworkers," Angus said, looking up at the crowd again, pleading to Istus to keep them safe. "But I came down with three today. There's my friend Magnus, and my magic teacher Taako, and my friend Merle..." He trailed off, his concern getting the better of him.

 

"I think I have heard of Taako," Helm said, wrinkling his eyebrows. "But they must be quite dear to you to earn such a tone of voice. I understand that."

 

"Was the tiefling with you one of your companions?" Angus asked, wanting to get his mind off of the Reclaimers and Helm's off of Taako.

 

Helm nodded. "My mentor, Poetry. They are in the same order as I am and are tasked with guarding me until we clear The Disease and return home."

 

"What are the others' names?"

 

"Quartz, Irene, and Anna," Helm said. "They are in the city as well, but Poetry suggested we split up to cover more research ground. I do not know where they are."

 

Angus opened his mouth to say something, perhaps comfort the other boy, but he was interrupted by a loud call. "Angus?" came Magnus's voice, making him look up.

 

Magnus was there, just in the crowd, looking around. His expression was slightly panicked, and he was reaching for his stone of far speech. Angus stood up quickly, calling, "Magnus! I'm over here, sir!"

 

Magnus looked at him, his shoulders slumping with a sigh of relief. Angus sat back down, waiting for Magnus to come up the stairs. Helm leaned over, whispering, "This is the Magnus you spoke of just now?" At Angus's nod, he let out a gasp of amazement. "Truly a courageous looking man."

 

"I was lookin' all over the tavern for you, Angus," Magnus said, trying to seem joking but obviously still tense as he sat down a few steps from the boys. "I thought I left you with Taako."

 

"Oh, Taako left, sir. He seemed very urgent," Angus explained. "I think he'll be back soon."

 

Magnus made a small noise of concern but changed the topic. "So who's this, Ango? A new friend?"

 

Helm was still looking at Magnus in amazement, but he managed a choppy, "My name is Helm. It is an honor to meet you."

 

"Magnus Burnsides," Magnus replied. "Uh, thanks, though, Helm."

 

 Helm simply nodded, his gaze shifting as though was now much more interested in the things around them. Angus quickly filled the silence with a slew of questions for Magnus, starting with, "Sir, why did you have to go?"

 

"Important almost-not-Bureau business," Magnus said. "And some carpentry. Mostly carpentry."

 

"Why did Taako leave?"

 

"You'll have to ask him."

 

"Sir, he probably won't tell me."

 

"I bet he'll tell you, Angus."

 

Helm cleared his throat, drawing Angus's attention again. "Magnus, sir, I have a question. Did you happen to meet a half-orc named Quartz while attending to your business? I heard reports of a brawl just before my companion and I reached the temple and I am quite worried for her safety."

 

"I saw a half-orc in the brawl, I guess, but I didn't catch her name," Magnus said, shrugging.

 

Helm frowned a bit, glancing up the staircase. "Angus," he said. "Do you happen to possess a Stone of Farspeech? I know they are quite rare, but my companions and I managed to find a set recently, and I think Poetry may be coming back soon."

 

Angus smiled, nodding. "Yeah, I have one! Here, lemme get it."

 

Magnus started scanning the crowds as Angus had been doing while the two young boys exchanged frequencies. The world seemed to align once again in that moment, as once they had stashed them away again soft footsteps and a swishing tail made themselves known on the staircase. Poetry motioned for Helm to follow, saying, "Come, now. I'm finished in the Temple, let us set out."

 

They simply nodded to Magnus and Angus as they kept going, Helm close behind. He turned and waved, smiling. Once they had disappeared into the crowd, Magnus snorted with a laugh. "Looks like you made a friend, Ango," he said. "Seemed nice."

 

Angus gave a one-shouldered shrug, moving down to sit next to Magnus. "Can we look for Taako and Merle now?" he asked, hugging his knees to his chest.

 

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Let's go, kiddo."

 

Magnus stood and helped Angus up. They walked into the crowd, blending in and straining to spot a particular elven wizard. Merle was in front of the building he had gone in earlier that day, waiting for them as they searched, and eventually, all three found Taako tucked away in the corner of the market arguing with another elf about the price of some ingredients. The sun was setting by that point, so they called the ball, and flew up into the sky to avoid having Taako start a wizard duel then and there. They returned safe and sound, purchases in hand, much to everyone's delight.

 

That night, Angus went to the library, pulling out his notes on The Disease and trying to find possible causes. Sure, it wasn't related to the relics, but Helm had seemed like an honorable person, and the Bureau had plenty of Seekers. He could split his work between two projects for while. And that way, he could keep this possible new friend.

**Author's Note:**

> The heart charm, if you were wondering, is a _Periapt of Health_ as described in the Dungeon Master's Guide for 5e. [here is a picture of it](https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/3/36/Periapt_of_health-5e.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170131002525)


End file.
